A story in today’s Denver Post takes a look at the renaissance of the city’s River North neighborhood.

Though not technically part of River North, a big question mark for the neighborhood is what will happen with the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, which wants to move from its current location on Brighton Boulevard north of Interstate 70 to a site adjacent to a proposed Gaylord hotel in Aurora.

River North developer Mickey Zeppelin is concerned that if the stock show leaves its current location in the neighborhood, the property will be even more neglected.

“Unless there is a plan in place that is funded to do something where the stock show is, my real concern is that it gets sold off in small pieces and retains that kind of industrial look,” Zeppelin said.

And if it stays, there needs to be a plan that includes education, agriculture and animal medicine.

“It should be the Fitzsimons of the animal world,” Zeppelin said. “This idea of let’s just make it one more entertainment venue and have short-term jobs is not really what’s needed.”

Developer Scott McFadden, who building an apartment complex in the area, said that with or without the stock show, the 95-acre site is a prime location for redevelopment.

“It’s just an obvious evolution that’s going to happen,” McFadden said. “There’s no other land left downtown that has the scale and size to do large neighborhoods or projects as the economy comes back.”

For the moment, though, the stock show must stay put. A relocation would require Denver letting National Western out of its lease, which runs through 2040.

Denver-based Slaterpaull Architects has completed the renovation of Engine House No. 5, a former Lower Downtown fire station at 19th and Market streets.

The building, which will be the new home for Slaterpaull’s corporate headquarters, is expected to be one of the first LEED Platinum historic buildings in LoDo when it receives certification from the U.S Green Building Council.

The renovation required masonry rehabilitation, steel window replacement, wood window rehabilitation, door and window opening restoration, roof and interior rehabilitation with reconstruction based on historic photographs on the exterior of the building.

Slaterpaull received a grant from the Governors Energy Office for energy efficient design in historic buildings and a grant from the State Historic Fund for exterior masonry work.

The project also includes a variety of energy-efficient systems and green building techniques, such as chilled-beam technology and a displacement ventilation system for heating and cooling the space, window and floor restoration, recycled building materials, natural lighting, and a green operations and maintenance plan.

Built in 1922 as an Engine House for the City and County of Denver Fire Department, has remained in continuous use since the Engine House occupied it in 1923. The 13,000-square-foot building is listed as a contributing building in the Lower Downtown Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The Adams County Housing Authority is ready to sell the first homes completed under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Since 2009, the agency has been buying and renovating foreclosed or abandoned homes with the intent to sell the properties to working families. All homes were rehabilitated using local contractors and feature energy efficiency upgrades such as Energy Star appliances.

The following homes are now ready to be sold to buyers earning less than 120 percent of the area median income or $86,150 for a family of four:

The Denver Area Habitat for Humanity has been selected to participate in the national expansion of Partners in Sustainable Building, a $30 million program dedicated to making more than 5,000 Habitat homes nationwide green.

The Denver Habitat will build or refurbish 70 homes in the area to Energy Star and other green building standards through next year. The homes will include water-conserving plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency appliances, programmable thermostats and quality insulation and ventilation systems.

The Denver Habitat is one of 135 affiliates nationwide to be chosen for the program.

The Montezuma County housing authority has received $6.4 million to help build a 48-unit affordable housing project in Cortez.

Brubaker Place will have six two-story apartment buildings and a one-story community center. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units will be available to rent to households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, or $30,480 a year for a family of four.

The $8.6 million project is expected to generate more than $18 million in economic investment in the surrounding community and support 136 jobs.

The funding, which came through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is part of the Tax Credit Exchange Program created by Congress to support development and preservation of affordable housing and stimulate jobs. So far, Colorado has received $32.8 million in funds from the program for eight affordable housing developments.

Employment in the construction industry dropped in June to the lowest level since July 1996 and the industry’s unemployment rate remained at 20.1 percent, more than double the average for all workers, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.

“While the rest of the economy added nearly a million jobs in the first half of 2010, 114,000 construction workers lost theirs, joining the 2 million others who have become unemployed since August 2006,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the association.

The construction industry added 49,000 jobs in March and April as homebuilders and highway contractors geared up, but 30,000 jobs disappeared in May and 22,000 in June as housing cooled and nonresidential building slumped further.

The Military Veterans Program (MVP) offers 100 percent financing for the initial franchise and territory fee of $42,500, which grants the owner/operator access to 62,500 households. The company guarantees zero percent interest for three years. If the veteran doesn’t want to continue the program after one year, the company will relieve all remaining debt associatted with the franchise and territory fee.

Applicants must have $50,000 in working capital and have a net worth of $175,000.

Zeppelin Development has received $6 million in financing for construction of the next phase of his TAXI campus.

Vectra Bank provided the financing for FREIGHT, which will focus on small and medium tenants.

Zeppelin is redeveloping the 30,000-square-foot mid-century trucking terminal on the TAXI property. About 60 percent of the building has been pre-leased, including 7,000 square feet to the Open Air Academy-Early Childhood Education Center.

The Denver Office of Economic Development has $12 million in foreclosure redevelopment funds available for affordable housing developers.

The office is accepting loan applications for the redevelopment of foreclosed multi-family properties in Denver through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2).

Projects must include five units or more, be under single ownership and be located in one of the following NSP2 eligible neighborhoods: Montbello, Green Valley Ranch, Northeast Park Hill, Elyria Swansea, Cole, Clayton, Chaffee Park, Globeville, Sunnyside, West Colfax, Villa Park and Westwood. Projects in additional neighborhoods may be eligible on a case-by-case basis.

Priorities for determining funding eligibility include:

· Projects that will house residents at 50 percent of the area median income or below.

· Transit-oriented developments.

· Projects that are ready to proceed (property under contract, or acquisition negotiations under way).

· Projects that leverage additional funding from other sources.

More information and application materials are available at www.milehigh.com. Applications will be accepted until Aug. 31, or when all funding has been obligated, whichever comes first.

For more information, contact Melissa Stirdivant at melissa.stirdivant@denvergov.org or 720-913-1541.

Laura Keeney writes about aerospace and airlines for The Post. When she's not at work, you can usually find her taking in live music, reading voraciously, or doing something science-related and nerdy. She also loves The Clash ... a lot.

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.